Delta to introduce comfort economy seats on international flights

Delta Air Lines will bring in “Economy Comfort” section, featuring more legroom and seats with additional recline on its long-haul international flights this summer, the US based airline announced on Monday.

Just as Delta is investing in BusinessElite, which is among the industry's most competitive premium products, it makes sense to offer enhancements to our Economy Class service that provide additional comfort, Glen Hauenstein, Delta's executive vice president – Network Planning, Revenue Management and Marketing, said.

The new seats will be located in the first few rows of the Economy cabin on over 160 Boeing 747, 757, 767, 777 and Airbus A330 aircraft by May 2011.

The Economy Comfort seats will be available for booking from May onwards and at an additional cost of $80 to $160 one way. However, Delta said that frequent fliers won’t be charged for the Comfort seats, while lesser-frequent travelers will get 25-50 percent discounts.

The new seats will offer an additional 4 inches of legroom and up to 50 percent more recline than standard economy class seats. Fliers buying Economy Comfort seats will also get other perks such as complimentary drinks during the flight, Delta said.

Delta also said that the airline plans to offer 34 flat-bed Business Elite seats in all its 32 A330 aircraft by 2013.